Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Disturbing news about Facebook

Today I read an article about Facebook and the privacy of its users. It seems that once we place our email and photos on Facebook, third parties can have access to them.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/End-of-Privacy-Your-Facebook-cnnm-3227174...



So it would be a wise thing to be cautious before saying certain things on Facebook. Also, do not splash private information (weddings/deaths/vacations, etc.) on Facebook. Best to email privately, I think.
The less information you put on Facebook, the better. Maybe get out of it altogether. But how does one get out of Facebook? They don't make it easy, especially when one has hundreds of friends linked to their site.


This social networking of Facebook has plusses and cons. The plusses are the possibilities of reaching out to a number of people in a short amount of time. The cons are that it takes time to sit down and write on Facebook and respond to everyone's comments. Also, if one has news, how much of it should they mention, without compromising their privacy, given what I just read?

For some people, Facebook is a way to connect with family and friends. Gossip has always been with us and always will be. Is Facebook a Gossip column? Snippets of peoples lives going down the screen, with photos attached of their children, spouses, events, sure is interesting to some people. It's like snooping in on other people's lives. How much time does one want to devote to that?

Overall, after I finish lurking on Facebook, and offering a tip or two, I get off. My time on Facebook is about 10 minutes or so every other day. More than that, seems to be a waste of time. But that's just enough information for those marketers, and 10 minutes may be 10 minutes too much. Time will tell.

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